Excelsior Class – do not use

The USS Stargazer is an Excelsior-class Starship. Classified as an Explorer for exploration, diplomatic and defensive missions, she has accommodation for 450 crew members: 150 officers and 300 enlisted Crew – up to 130 visiting scientists, diplomats and civilians.

Development of the Excelsior-class started in 2252 but production did not commence until 2283, her design being embraced and developed at no less than six construction yards:

Antares Fleet Yard, Antares IV

New Aberdeen Fleet Yard, Aldebarran

Utopia Planitia Fleet Yard, Mars

Copernicus Fleet Yard, Luna

Atlas V Fleet Yard, Deneb V

San Francisco Fleet Yard, Earth

She remained in production for 53 years with the last excelsior being released in 2335.

The Excelsior class was originally intended as a means of achieving trans warp. However, it was discovered that although trans warp was promising in computer simulations, the technology was unworkable in practice. Nevertheless, due to the durable construction of the Excelsior class, the vessels proved to be remarkably versatile when launched into service. The aims of the excelsior project are:

Pursuant to STARFLEET Exploration Directives 902.3 & 914.5, STARFLEET Corps of Engineering Special Directive 10021.A, STARFLEET Defense Directives 138.6 & 141.1, and Federation Security Council General Policy, the following objectives have been established for an Excelsior Class Starship:

Provide a multi-mission mobile platform for a wide range of scientific and exploration research projects.
Replace Constitution and Constitution-Refit as the primary instrument of Federation deep-space defence.

Provide autonomous capability for full execution of Federation defensive, cultural, scientific, and exploration policy in deep space or border territory.

Serve as a frontline support vehicle during times of war and emergencies.

Provide a mobile platform for testing and implementation of TransWarp Technology (repealed in 2290).

The class was later refit starting with the USS Enterprise B, launched in 2293. The 2nd “Excelsior II” ship was the USS Stargazer. In a move said to honour past ships to bear the name, but later theorised by commentators to distance itself from Cartwright, the registry NCC 7791 was used instead of NCC 1791-A.